


Passing the baton

by Ash0605



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Anime Spoilers, Birthday, Birthday Presents, Canon Compliant, Everyone Is Gay, Gen, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Nico fills a box with glitter and writes a last will, Not Hanayos either since shes literally omniscient, Not her own though dw, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:08:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28924839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ash0605/pseuds/Ash0605
Summary: After gifting Hanayo her birthday present, Nico relays her wishes for the clubs future through a Last Will and Testament and a large amount of glitter.HappybelatedBirthday Hanayo!
Relationships: Koizumi Hanayo/Yazawa Nico
Kudos: 5





	Passing the baton

Nico straightened her posture and crossed her arms forebodingly as she heard the club room door open and close behind her. Aside from the bleak winter light filtering in from outside, Otonokizaka’s Idol Study Club remained in darkness, rendering the details on the cardboard boxes, books, DVD cases and posters difficult to decipher. The eight chairs surrounding the rectangular table in the center of the room were empty, meaning that Nico and her visitor were the only ones in the room. Nico stood at the opposite end of the table from the door, facing the mostly blank whiteboard. She hoped that her striking figure cast an authoritative shadow down the length of the table, reaching the club member at the other end of the room and demanding her full attention without the need for words.

Nico turned around slowly with all the pomp and grace she could muster. Her act shattered in an instant when her eyes met those of the girl standing at the other side of the room. She expected the meek girl to be hanging sheepishly on her every word, the hairs on her skin standing up straight from the anticipation. Instead, the girl she was greeted with looked like she had stumbled home from a party. Or more accurately, her own birthday.

Hanayo gave Nico a look of bewilderment as she tried to work out what was going on. She was wearing her maroon framed glasses, but this was the most normal part about her appearance. Her school uniform was completely buried under celebratory regalia. She donned a colourful spotted party hat on her head and a regal looking flowing red cape that draped down some distance behind her. She was clutching a high end rice cooker in arms as if it was her lifeline, and dozens of cards and positive messages were propped up in her arms and stuck hastily all over her body. It was as if she was given them by students on the way here or deemed them too important to leave somewhere else. Her eyes scanned the room, but never rested on one place for too long due to the lack of light. The empty space in the bookcase to the side of Nico thankfully went unnoticed.

Before speaking, Nico looked down and pouted at her shadow. Instead of reaching across the room like she expected it to, it barely reached her end of the table. The other members didn’t deserve their positions of privilege, Nico concluded internally.

“Hanayo-chan. It’s good to see you’ve finally come.” Nico started formally. “Do you have any idea why I called you here today?”

Hanayo nodded her head. “You didn’t put anything on the note you gave me.” she responded meekly.

“That doesn’t matter.” Nico stepped forward and placed her hand on the cardboard box resting on her end of the table, watching Hanayo’s light purple eyes follow her hand. She pushed the box across the table with one deliberate shove and sighed in frustration when it stopped halfway. “That box is for you.”

Carefully placing the rice cooker on her own end of the table, Hanayo maneuvered around the worktop and reached for the box with both of her hands. Her eyes scanned its plain brown surface, which was rendered grayish by the light coming in from outside. After a few seconds, she returned her attention to Nico. “Are you sure this is for me?”

“It is.” Nico reassured. She hoped the darkness of the room didn’t conceal the quaint smile forming on her face. “Happy Birthday Hanayo-chan.”

“Oh gosh! It’s about that!” Hanayo exclaimed. She breathed a sigh of relief, after which her body seemed to relax. “Thank you so much, Nico-chan!” Her fingers started probing the surface of the box until they worked their way under the lid, carefully and slowly lifting it away. After placing the lid to the side she took a peek inside, her face brightening up instantly upon noticing the contents. With an expression bright enough to illuminate the room, her eyes dashed from the box to the bookcase at the side of the room, finally noticing the empty space. Finally, her eyes returned to Nico. “Are… Are you… Are you sure this is for me?!” Hanayo stammered.

“Of course it’s for you.” Nico replied bluntly, her finger playing with one of her pigtails.

“I… I can’t believe this! It’s one of your _The_ _Legend of Legendary Idols_ DVD box sets!” She lifted the square box up from inside with shaking hands. The pink colouring and bright gold text made it distinctive even in the darkness of the club room. Her face seemed to darken again in an instant, after which she sadly placed the DVD’s back in the cardboard box. “I can’t take this from you, Nico-chan. These are really expensive and hard to find, and you paid for them.”

“Don’t worry about that!” Nico countered. “I don’t know what statement I was trying to make with keeping 2 copies here and one at home in the first place. Considering how much you’ve been watching and gushing at them over the past year, this is probably something I should have done sooner.”

“Gosh! I mean… If you really insist!” Hanayo’s face lit up again as she reached for the DVD box set and lifted it out. She spent a few blissful seconds studying the exterior cover as if she had never seen it before.

“Theres something else underneath that too.” Nico prompted, hoping that her tone of voice wasn’t rushing Hanayo along.

“Oh., urm… Right! I’ll have a look!” Hanayo placed the box set next to the rice cooker at the other end of the table from Nico. As she maneuvered her way back to the cardboard box, she stared happily at the two objects resting side by side, which represented her greatest passions in life. She plunged her hands into the cardboard box and retrieved them after a few seconds. “I found this paper…” Hanayo said, holding up the folded page for Nico to see. “But there was also something else in there I could feel but couldn’t recognize.”

“I filled the box with glitter.” Nico felt like she was confessing to a crime. The idea sounded a lot better in her head.

“You… You what?”

“I filled the box with glitter.” Nico admitted again, more sternly this time. “Its… complicated. I hate using wrapping paper because of how expensive it can be and how little I end up using it. I never get good at using it, so I always end up anxious about wasting it. I decided to try something different with your present, but I’ll admit that the idea sounded way better in my head.”

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing!” Hanayo reassured, raising her palms out in front of her. “It’s just not something I was expecting. Is there anything else I missed in the box?”

“Nope, you got everything.”

“Alright! I’ll open this up- ah.” Hanayo’s eyes moved from the paper to the floor as a hefty amount of glitter cascaded down from under the fold. While most of it fell onto the floor, some of it landed on Maki’s chair, which Nico realized would be a _pain_ to clean up. “I kind of wished I’d opened that over the box.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. That’s the last of the glitter anyway.”

Hanayo set on eagerly opening the paper and reading what she expected to be another birthday card. Her face gradually fell as she read the words along the top, realizing that it was something a lot more serious. “Nico-chan… is this real?”

Nico nodded sadly. She vividly remembered writing those words in bold, black ink. “Yep, its real. That’s the Last Will and Testament of the Idol Research Club.” She surveyed the mixture of melancholy and surprise on Hanayo’s face, reminding herself internally that the biggest surprise was yet to come.

“I suppose when you put it like that… µ’s disbanding feels official, huh?”

Nico replied with a formal nod. Internally, she couldn’t disagree more. She didn’t need a document or statement of any kind to tell her what was coming in 2 months’ time because µ’s tearful declaration of disbandment rang through her ears every morning, serving as a reminder that these happy times would soon come to an end. Nico would have to return to desperately scrambling around for stardom, and the thought of having to do so terrified her to her core.

Though as much as it scared her, there was nothing she could do about it. All she could do was plan for the future.

Upon Nico’s directive (and after agreeing that Yes, µ’s Last Will and Testament would technically have been more correct), Hanayo started reading out the terms listed on the page:

_“1._ _µ_ _’s will disband after the Love Live finals in March 2011, regardless of whether they win or lose.”_

_“2. If_ _µ’s wins the Love Live, then the victory flag will be kept in the club room as property of the entire club instead of that of a single person.”_

_“3. Membership for the Idol Research Club will be reserved for Yukiho Kousaka and Alisa Ayase, regardless of how large the club turns out to be in the new year.”_

_“4. Monthly purchase records, particularly those kept by Nico Yazawa, will be destroyed.”_

_“5. Nico Yazawa will go down as the cutest member of the group for all time.”_

_“6. µ’s memorabilia and related items will not be displayed in the club room after disbandment. This is to prevent the legacy of the group overshadowing any future units. The victory flag is the only exception to this rule, but this only applies if µ’s wins.”_

_“7. If Maki Nishikino happens to be reading this, then she is reminded that she owes Nico Yazawa 10000 yen. ~~Though this can also be paid for with a kiss on the cheek.~~ ” _(Nico hoped she did a good enough job scribbling that last part out.)

_“8. The leadership of the Idol Research Club for the 2011/2012 academic year will be picked from µ’s current first years. This is to keep the leadership consistent and stable for as long as possible.”_

_“9. The next president of the Idol Research Club is currently slated to be Hanayo Koi-“_

Hanayo abruptly stopped reading. Her eyes moved from one side of the page to the other, as if the words she had just read were too good to be true. After a few seconds she rose her head to face Nico with an alarmed expression. “I can’t do that, Nico-chan.”

“You definitely can, Hanayo-cha-“

“No! Don’t say that!” Hanayo interrupted, her voice rising an octave. “Surely one of the second years would be a better fit!”

“No way! Honoka spends most of her energy trying not to embarrass herself as the president and not accidently bankrupt the school while she’s at it! The other second years are too busy on the council… helping her.” Nico neglected to say ‘babysit’, mainly because Honoka wasn’t that incompetent. She also neglected on reminding Hanayo about one of the terms of the Will, which limited future leadership to current first years only.

“In that case, I’m certain Maki-chan or Rin-chan would do a better job than me! Maki-chan is so much smarter than me and Rin-chan is so much more confident in talking to-“

“You’re missing the point!” Nico snapped, unable to control the volume of her voice. “Sure you might be right, but I know if I asked them they would recommend you in their place in a heartbeat!” Hanayo was too overwhelmed by her anxieties and the loudness of Nico’s voice to answer, which Nico took as permission to continue. “On the day we all graduate, I know for a FACT that everyone will nominate you. You don’t realize it, but you’re the natural choice!”

Nico instantly regretted her tone when she saw Hanayo hunching over, hiding from the loudness of Nico’s voice and making herself as small as possible at the same time. Sighing to herself, she started making her way towards Hanayo, preparing to console her in the same way she would her own siblings. She noted with frustration that she didn’t need to kneel down since she was already shorter than Hanayo. “Hey… I’m sorry for snapping at you like that. It’s just frustrating to see you beat yourself down when everyone else’s opinion of you is so much higher. You’re the natural choice, and everyone knows you can do it. I know you can do it, and an endorsement from the Number One Idol In The Universe speaks volumes!”

Hanayo was shaking like a leaf, and her hesitation came from the intense self-doubt and unease she was feeling. “Are you… Are you sure I can do it?”

“You can definitely do it.” Nico reassured, flashing Hanayo a wide smile. Out of all of the smiles she had given throughout her life, she hoped most of all that this one would give courage to the person who needed it. “Just think about it for now, ok? It’s still a while until we graduate after all! I know this is easier said than done, but if you do end up thinking about it try thinking about yourself a bit more positively. Like I said before, we all know you’re up for the task.”

Hanayo nodded weakly in response. She gradually recomposed herself and straightened her posture again. “I’ll go and think about it. Thank you for making me feel better Nico-chan.”

“Anytime, Hanayo-chan! I should probably apologize considering I sprung this on you unexpectedly. The others are probably all waiting for us on the rooftop, so shall we head up there now?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.” Hanayo agreed. “Can you carry the boxset up with you? I don’t think I can manage both it and the rice cooker on my own.”

“I’ll bring it up with me. I’ll be with you once I’ve locked the clubroom, so feel free to wait outside or go on without me.”

After nodding in agreement, Hanayo carefully picked up the rice cooker with both arms and slowly made her way out of the club room. When Nico went to grab the box set, she found herself staring at the corner of the whiteboard at the other end of the room, upon which hung a picture of the µ’s members crammed into a photo booth. After realizing that she was no better prepared to handle the upcoming disbandment than she was before, Nico consoled herself by dumping the rest of the glitter in the cardboard box onto Maki’s chair before grabbing the box set and making her own way out of the room.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday Hanayo! My apologies for being a bit late with the upload! I think I'm caught up with birthday fics for now, which definitely feels good!
> 
> Hanayo isn't a character I know much about, and I think she got shafted in terms of development and focus in the show itself. I remember reading a school idol diary where µ's do this weird mixer event with each other. Hanayo makes a bit of a fool of herself by accident, and even though everything goes ok she still wonders about 'How long she can be a member of µ's until she gets kicked out.' This stuck out to me a lot since its a side of her I don't really see. Its a shame she thinks this way because she's a really good bean AND she becomes the new president of the club at the end of the story, which is what this fic is referring to! I'll link the school idol diary chapter in case you're interested! It happens towards the end:  
> https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/love_live_school_idol_diary_ch08#28
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! If you have any comments or feedback feel free to leave them here! If you want to reach out on twitter feel free to do so at @ash060500
> 
> I hope you have a good rest of your day and I wish you the best in staying safe!


End file.
